The End

Today we reached the end of our pilgrimage. Yesterday we had a moderate walk from Cee to the town of Fisterra. We found a nice Inn to stay in for two nights and so today, without backpacks, we took the short hike to the tip of the penninsula. I feel sad that our pilgrimage journey is at an end. There is no further to go.

We shift now to the journey home. It's Scott's wife, Annie's, birthday today and Scott's call to her was a great reminder to us both that we have so much to be grateful for at home. Nonetheless, it has been a privalege and a joy, for these two and half weeks and 280 miles, to be called Peregrinos.





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The Ocean

Today we reached the ocean. It was a dramatic and difficult hike. Although we only went about twelve miles most of it was in driving rain through about ten miles of hilly, unprotected moor without a building in sight. We were soaked and chilled and pressing on against very strong headwinds. This difficult hike ended happily. We've stopped at Cee, about six miles short of our goal but still on the ocean. For only the second time since we began our walk we've chosen to stay at a simple hotel instead of the public hostels. It is a joy to warm up and fill up after the chill and hunger of the Camino.


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Our Longest Day

Today was our longest day on the Camino. We walked well over twenty miles. It had other challenges as well. The first two hours were virtually without coffee and so felt like the zombie effect we'd read about. Our packs were heavier than usual because we wanted to be prepared for long stretches without food. It rained, sometimes quite hard, on and off throughout the day. All served to emphasize how fortunate we have been up until now. We also feel we have the resources, in many ways, to face the challenges of the Camino. Tomorrow to Finnisterre and the ocean.


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Camino de Fisterra

Today we began a new route, to Finisterra. It is a less traveled way to the ocean. After today, each day will require long walks of at least 30 km. Today was a lovely walk even through the frequent, but usually light, showers. The landscape reminded me of the landscapes of my childhood in Delaware and in summer camp in West Virginia- lush with rolling hills and lively rivers. Another photo tomorrow.


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Compostela!

We did it! We started our morning a bit late with the intention of taking our time and arriving tomorrow. We soon found we were making great time and so set ourselves the goal of arriving in time for the noon Mass.

After a sprint through the very extended suburbs of Santiago we arrived at the Cathedral just in time to sing a familiar tune to Alleluia for the gospel acclaimation. We stood a bit to the side in the packed Cathedral where we heard the Bishop preach, received the bread and saw the famous giant incense pot, the Botafumeiro, swing across almost the full width of the crossing. It was all we'd hoped. God is good.

Right after the service we took a couple of pictures, got our certificate of completion and then celebrated with perhaps the best seafood lunch we've ever had. Tonight we relax in town before moving on to the ocean. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't feel deep, deep gratitude, especially for Chloe, Harper and Simon and for St. Paul's. I know Scott feels the same way about his people because we talk about it. We are blessed men.


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Twenty Kilometers

We are less than 12 miles from Compostela. Both yesterday and today were unseasonably cool days with intermitant clouds and even light showers. They were long hard days of hiking. We've hit our stride and plan to continue to the ocean after our Peregrino communion on Friday.

A few years ago, Scott and I read together an old Christian classic called The Pilgrim's Progress. In it, a Christian soul is constantly assaulted by a variety of temptations as he travels The Way. An ongoing joke has been the constant temptations of Gluttony our Way. The food and wine has indeed been wonderful, easy to find and well priced. Among the memories of our Camino we will also include the daily cafe con leche, the obscene Botillo Medieval, and the delightful Mencia grape. Good Lord deliver us?


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Two similar days

We seem to have settled into a pilgrim rhythm. We remembered to say prayers this morning even in the sterile common room of the modern albergue at Portomarin. Last night we met two new pilgrims from Ireland who had just finished their first day. It was nice to feel like veterans.

The landscape has been neither as ugly as outside Leon nor as stunning as the last post. It is rural and ancient feeling and then congested and modern by turns. The way is much more crowded now, and while we are seeing many familiar faces from the previous week we are now joined by many who are on an even shorter pilgrimage than we are. We are only three days out from Campostela and plan to continue on to the ocean.


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Happy, Fuzzy Peregrino

Another beautiful day of walking through Galicia. The landscape was surprisingly lush and consistently felt, at heart, unchanged for centuries. It was easy today to feel like we were following the footsteps of many before us. Yet the way was not crowded. We are blessed.


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Slow Camino

We've walked just over 200 kilometers and have under 150 to go. Because we have so much time, we're intentionally slowing down a bit. Today we passed through O Cebreiro, one of the featured spots on the way. It's a stone village atop a hill where several miracles happened. We made a long stop there and took our time in prayer. We ended our day at a farm village where we had a feast of soup, stew and local wine followed by a nap!


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Near Galicia

We've ended today about two miles shy of the highest peak we reach on our Camino. On the other side lies Galicia, the province with Campostela. We leave behind the region of Bierzo where, in addition to beautiful landscapes, some alive churches and a few very fine meals, we also met a pair of very cool Americans, our first. Bill and Julie are gregarious outdoorsy types who filled us with stories of their worldwide adventures before easily outpacing us this morning. This afternoon we went slowly up the steep hill among full streams and creeks.


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A short day

Today we walked only in the morning and have settled early at Villafranca. Here there is a church door, pictured below, which is the only spot on the Camino where, if you were very ill, you could earn credit for completion of the walk without arriving in Campostela. The church itself is perhaps the most sacred spot yet and we both spent a time inside in prayer.


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Two days

Yesterday my connection didn't work so today I post for two days.

Yesterday morning was the most beautiful and meaningful stretch so far. We got up in the dark and, thanks to the help of our headlamps and some French peregrinos, made our way through soggy fields. We arrived at a 2000 year old village, mostly abandoned where we did our prayers and were then served breakfast by a guy who could have been from Bolinas except he spoke Spanish. We went over a 1500 meter hill, at the top of which is a cross where pilgrims traditionally deposit a rock they have brought up from the plain. From the rest of the day and into today we have hiked down and well into the plain of Bierzo. We have gone from stunning mountain views, to ugly town and highway and now vineyard landscape. We have remained faithful to the Camino. Our feet are sore and it feels like we are experiencing some sort of deep shift.


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Free!

Today, our third day on the Camino, we finally broke free. The landscape became spare enough and the sounds quiet enough that we can attend to the deeper currents of what it means for us to walk this way. We've ended the day in the small hill village of Radanel del Camino.


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Another ugly day

Today was another whole day walking along a highway. In part, this was our choice. The Spanish government has clearly put a lot of effort making the Camino an attractive tourist option and so created various scenic alternatives along the way. At the clear urging of older local men we encountered along the way, we always chose the ancient route, even when ugly. The image is of a brand new pedestrian bridge built to take pilgrims over railroad tracks outside of Astroga. There have been moments of grace, to be sure, and we hope for a less cluttered and noisy experience soon. We're a bit sore but in good shape.


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Our first day

Today, after a late start, was our first day on the Camino. It was long and grim, mostly in industrial areas. In any case the company was excellent and the trail well marked. Perhaps the best part of the day was that people actually wished us 'bien camino' throughout. It seems we've joined the tribe.


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We've arrived!

This afternoon we arrived in Leon, the starting point of our Camino. This is a picture of Scott, my fellow 'peregrino,' in front of the Leon Cathedral. Shortly after this picture was taken, we got the first stamp on our Credencial. Tomorrow we begin our walk!


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My last day at home

Here are most, if not all, of the contents of my bag. It seems to be about 13 lbs.

It was a beautiful last day at church. I will carry with me a shell, an angel and a St. Christopher medal from St. Paul's. Chloe, Harper and Simon have given me a great last dinner and I got some delightful messages from friends and family. Tomorrow it begins!


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Credencial del Peregrino

I leave in two weeks. This weekend I got my Credencial, pictured here, which is a kind of passport for the Camino. It looks like you get it stamped along the way.

It has a lovely 12th century prayer on it. 'God, You called your servant Abraham from Ur in Chaldea, watching over him in all his wanderings, and guided the Hebrew people as they crossed the desert. Guard these your children who, for the love of your Name, make a pilgrimage to Compostela. Be their companion on the way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness, their defense in dangers, their shelter on the path, their shade in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement, and the firmness of their intentions; that through your guidance, they may arrive safely at the end of their journey and, enriched with grace and virtue, may return to their homes filled with salutory and lasting joy.'

Please pray for us and especially for the families and churches Scott and I will be leaving behind. We are incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity!


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Getting Ready to Walk

In just over a month I leave California to go walk the ancient Christian pilgrimage route called the Camino. I will be joined by my friend Scott Barker and we plan to walk for three weeks across northern Spain. In this picture I am getting in shape by taking a long hike through the Armstrong Redwoods Reserve in Sonoma. I invite you to follow along on this Blog.


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